Victoria's Secret Brings Sexy Back to Manhattan

Victoria's Secret models with Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Bruno Mars during the 2012 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at the Lexington Avenue Armory on November 7, 2012 in New York (image credit Timothy Clary/AFP/Getty)

Temps dropped into the 30s on Wednesday, but things were burning up inside the Lexington Armory.

The occasion: the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, held here Wednesday, but airing on CBS/WLTX on Dec. 4.

Once you got past several levels of intense security that included multiple ID checks and bomb-sniffing dogs and took the elevator to the fifth floor, you were greeted by piles of hair extensions, scads of makeup, and rows of leggy catwalkers wearing short, shiny pink robes and getting gussied up for the evening's grand event. Perhaps all that muscle was there to guard the $2.5 million Floral Fantasy set, worn this year by Alessandra Ambrosio.

"I'm tired but excited to be back," says model Adriana Lima. "It's the highlight of my year. I get nervous, every single time. I thought it would go away, but no."

Backstage, the mood was mixed. On the one hand, the models we spoke to celebrated the re-election of President Obama.

"I fell asleep when they were making their predictions last night. My mom called me this morning and started screaming," says model Joan Smalls. "It's nice to know that hope is possible."

On the other hand, many were dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which ravaged the region last week. Behati Prinsloo's East Village apartment was flooded, but she said her two cats were fine and she felt lucky, even though the entire bottom floor was destroyed. "I have nothing to complain about," says the chatty and friendly model, who's dating musician Adam Levine. "I feel very lucky."

How much intimate apparel does she own? Not all that much. "I love cotton panties. They're so comfortable," says Prinsloo.

She's also lucky in love, a topic she didn't want to broach with reporters. "He's great," she said about her better half.

That summed up how Smalls was feeling as well. "Sandy did mess with me a little bit. I evacuated uptown. People lost their homes. A little bit of flooding - I was blessed," she says.

Miranda Kerr was in town without her husband, Orlando Bloom, or their toddler Flynn. "I didn't want to bring my son because of the hurricane, so he arrives tomorrow," she explained, adding that Bloom was shooting in South Africa.

Without question, Kerr looks incredible post-baby. Her secret?

"It's a lot of work. Resistance training and yoga. I'm very big on nutrition. I also think the power of the mind is really strong. When I'm around my son, I'm very conscious of being on the phone. It's really important to be with him when I'm with him. And when he naps, or after he goes to bed, I'm on e-mail and whatnot," she says.

She's looking forward to seeing the performers: Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Bruno Mars. "We are where we are. I've done the best I can to get my body into shape. I'm here today and I'm going to enjoy the music," says Kerr, a former gymnast who specialized in uneven bars.

Lima, meanwhile, was all about the feathers and lace. "I love lingerie. I'm a girly-girl. I have enough to please my husband," says Lima, who's married to Serbian basketball player Marko Jaric.

During the show, gymnasts and contortionists performed, and Lima, clad in a ringmaster cape, was the first to walk to The Doors' Break on Through.

Rihanna opened the show, performing Diamonds while clad in a slinky black dress accented with a pearl choker.

But it was Bieber who brought down the house, leaving grown women breathless and screaming while he sang Beauty and the Beat and As Long as You Love Me while clad in a white vest, white jeans and white high-tops. Bruno Mars, meanwhile, belted out spirited versions of Locked Out of Heaven and Young Girls.